Arisa's Morning

  Despite staying up late, Arisa woke early and couldn't fall back asleep. She didn't know what was wrong — only that something was. The previous night, she had pored over the confiscated notes but found nothing suspicious. Or rather, she could barely understand a tenth of it. She had already requested that the Tower send an expert to assist with the inspection, and they had promised to send someone today. But that promise did nothing to ease her anxiety.

  She got out of bed, dressed in her uniform, and sat at the table. For a while, she just sat there, flipping through pages. Then it struck her: this was all part of his game — and she had been playing along, trying to decode those notes. He hadn't cared about them being confiscated. That meant they were irrelevant. A distraction.

  The realization made her stomach sink. She glanced at the tracker on her desk — a compass-like device with hands showing the direction and distance to the ring. According to it, Negli was still in his room. She stepped out to check the clock in the foyer. It was nine. The receptionist bowed to her. She hurried upstairs.

  The guard shift had just changed, but the new guards still looked groggy — probably up late drinking and gambling. Such was the sorry state of the Blackguard these days: no discipline, no pride. The guards straightened up when they saw her.

  "Everything in order?" she asked.

  "Yes, ma'am."

  "All quiet, ma'am."

  She entered the room, catching a glimpse of surprise on their faces from the corner of her eye. A strong, cold draft greeted her as she opened the door. The bed was empty. A teapot and cup sat on the desk. The window curtains fluttered inward with the wind. She stepped to the window. No glass, and no shards around — only smooth, glassy flows on the windowsill. She looked outside. No one. She checked the adjoining washroom. Empty. Returning to the desk, she noticed a faintly glowing fire rune etched into its surface. A trap.

  Arisa took a deep breath. He had escaped. Now what? She turned back to the guards.

  "You — stand by the window. Don't touch anything. You — block the door. Let no one in."

  Their sleepiness vanished as they rushed to obey. She ran downstairs, grabbed the tracker from her room, and bolted back. Just as she reached the stairs, shouts erupted from above — and a moment later, her alarm bracelet blared and zapped her for good measure. She ignored the sting and kept moving.

  This narrative has been purloined without the author's approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.

  When she reached the door, the guard stepped aside. The desk was engulfed in bright flames. The other guard stood frozen by the window, eyes wide with fear. She chanted a spell and poured all her power into it. A deathly chill filled the room, snuffing out the fire and coating the walls and floor in white frost. She rushed in to stamp out the remaining flames. The guards snapped out of their stupor and helped her. Soon, the fire was gone, but the room was a charred, frozen mess.

  She picked the tracker off the floor. It was still working — still pointing to the ring's location. The ring was right in front of her, in the center of the desk. Barely visible, half-buried in a thick, charred mass, it lay where the fire rune had been. Her alarm bracelet zapped her again. She silenced it and turned to the guards, who were standing in stunned silence.

  "What did you do?" she growled.

  "Nothing, ma'am! I just stood there!"

  But now wasn't the time to question the fool. She left them on guard and ran downstairs. She had to alert the guards at the gates. The rest of the morning was a blur of messages and interrogations. Both the Chief Inquisitor and Berenji arrived to question her and the guards.

  The guard insisted he hadn't touched anything. He swore he saw a "meaty thing" jump onto the rune. They dismissed him from the room, and a tense discussion followed.

  "A meaty thing?" the Chief Inquisitor asked.

  The question was directed at Berenji. He shrugged.

  "No idea. Lieutenant, did you see anything like that?"

  "No," Arisa replied.

  "Perhaps the guard is lying," Berenji said, his tone flat.

  Something about his manner felt off — his indifference a little too pronounced, theatrical. He was glad, Arisa realized — glad that the blame for this failure could be shifted onto the Inquisition. He wasn't an ally anymore, just a bureaucrat, focused on protecting himself and his branch. At that moment, Arisa knew: the guard wasn't lying. And Berenji... Berenji might know exactly what that "meaty thing" was — and how it fooled the ring.

  "Have you checked his brother's house?" Berenji asked.

  "It's under surveillance. No one came or went last night," Arisa answered.

  Berenji shrugged again.

  "An arcanist will come today to examine the room. But after you burned and froze everything, I doubt there's much left to analyze. Are we done here, colleague?"

  The question was directed at the Chief Inquisitor, who gave a curt nod of thanks and dismissed him. Berenji exited without another word, leaving her alone with the Chief.

  "I've alerted the border posts, sir. They'll stop him if he tries to cross," Arisa said.

  "He's not the only man with golden eyes, Lieutenant. We can't detain everyone. Besides, he'll just bribe the guards," the Chief replied coolly.

  His voice was cold and measured — wrath barely contained. This was another humiliation for the Inquisition, and his fury didn't bode well for those under his command. After a long silence, he spoke.

  "Take three men. Ride to the southern border. Make sure the guards there do their job. Be proactive. You have three days to catch him. After that, I'll have to report to the Magistrate — and I'll ensure everyone responsible pays the price. Understood?"

  "Yes, sir."

  She stepped out of the inn into the cold, windless day and made her way toward the barracks.